Hi folks,
Although I am an old amateur photographer, since 1960, I am fairly new to digital cameras. My first digital camera was the Panasonic DMC FZ 10 bought in 2004, which I have now sold on, but I have also acquired the small Panasonic FX 50 which is pocket size, handy but fairly limited.
I have been looking to buy a new bridge camera to take on holiday in a few weeks time, when I stumbled onto this excellent website and read Gordon Laing’ superb and comprehensive review of the Panasonic FX 150 which confirmed my choice.
I have now bought one but there are a few questions that I would like to ask and hopefully some one could possibly help me out?
When I buy a new camera I always fit a UV 0-Haze filter primarily to protect the lens and also cover the LCD screen with a clear protective coating but according to Mr Laing’s review “the FZ150's screen has anti-reflection coatings”

Would it be advisable to still cover the camera’s screen?

Also I have a San Disk Ultra SDHC 8GB class 4, up to 15 MB/s. 100x (??) which I will keep for still pictures but intend to buy a 16 MB for video recording but I am confused with the difference between class (4 and above recommended by the handbook) and the various MB/s which I understand is the write to speed. I have found class 10 with a seemingly slower write speed than a class 4.

Thank you for reading this first post and any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Regards, auldbob

Welcome on-board auldbob, I'm glad you found us and found my review useful! As you probably gathered, I was very fond of the FZ150.

As for filters and covers, it's really a question of protection. I personally prefer not to use them as they can impact ultimate image quality, BUT of course it does make your equipment more vulnerable if you don't. It all boils down to personal choices and how or where you're using your gear. I will use a filter if I know there'll be splashes for instance, but generally I find the lens hood provides protection from knocks or prods. There's a discussion about this in the filters section of the forum.

As for memory cards, yes, some may perform better or worse than their ratings imply, but if you want smooth video on the FZ150 you'll need class 4 or faster.

PS - it's best to post any Qs or comments about the FZ150 in our sticky thread about the camera, as it'll remain at the top of the page for much lonmger than a single thread, and will also be useful to (and seen by) more people!

Hi Gordon,
Thank you for the quick reply and the very helpful suggestions which are greatly appreciated.
Would it breach the rules for a confused, elderly newbie to re post in the correct section?
Best Wishes
auldbob